The American bases in the Middle East have been using a defence system that is known as C-RAM, or Counter Rocket Artillery Mortar System. The basic idea of how this system works is available on the internet. C-RAM was a fairly successful system against the numerous strikes that the different terrorist, military, and proxy outfits routinely carry out on American bases in the Middle East.
Sporadic drone attacks on US bases in the Middle East are nothing new. But these drone attacks started displaying an upward trend in October, and finally, just a few days ago, the Tower-22 attack took place (and as far as the tactical objective was concerned, it was a success).
Now here is the interesting part: the USA, on Zelensky’s insistence, provided him with the C-RAM system in October 2023. Which could only mean that Russia has had enough time to study it during their drone and missile raids. So, this recent breakthrough at Tower-22 could very well be the result of those studies and subsequent intel sharing. Incidentally, Patrushev only recently met a number of delegates from Iran.
Back in the US, Joe Biden is under a lot of pressure. The neocon media is bombarding the internet with opinions and editorials on why America must attack Iran and wipe it out if possible. Jordan, which houses thousands of Palestinians, initially denied that Tower-22 existed in its territory. They have gone silent since the USA acknowledged the attack. This is a tricky situation for Jordan; the Palestinian protests in Jordan, buoyed by the success of the drone attack, can erupt into something bigger—something that their government would not want under any circumstances.
Donald Trump has gone ballistic. He has said: “(T)his brazen attack on the United States is yet another horrific and tragic consequence of Joe Biden’s weakness and surrender. Three years ago, Iran was weak, broke, and totally under control. Thanks to my maximum pressure policy… This attack would never have happened if I was President, not even a chance. Just like the Iranian-backed Hamas attack on Israel would never have happened, the war in Ukraine would never have happened, and we would right now have peace throughout the world. Instead, we are on the brink of WWIII.”
This regional flare-up is proving not just an embarrassment for Joe Biden in an election year, but one that is clearly forcing the USA to display its weakness to the rest of the world. As it stands, Tower-22, the possible intel sharing about the C-RAM system, the subsequent potential threat to the other US bases in Al Tanf and Muaffaq Salti, the positioning of Iranian battleship Shah Mahdavi in the Gulf of Oman with an eye on the Hormuz Strait, or the Houthis shooting UK-US vessels in the Red Sea are all the result of the complete failure on the part of Joe Biden to pressurise Binyamin Netanyahu in keeping the conflict contained within Gaza; to mix force with diplomacy to quickly find a workable Israel-Palestine solution.
There was a time when America would meet this kind of ‘transgression’ with unprecedented force. Now they have approached China to negotiate with Iran with instructions to slow down its proxies. It is not that the US has no options. They have the usual ones like sanctions, selective strikes, triggering proxy attacks on Iran, etc., but there lies the irony of it: Joe Biden not only fails to convince Netanyahu to keep the conflict contained, but he spreads it far and wide himself in an election year, with absolutely no control over the outcome.
How has China responded?
China has remained non-committal. They could gloat over the fact that the ‘unipolar hegemon of the world’ is pleading with them to request Iran’s cooperation, but China could have a more realistic quid pro quo in mind. Ever since the Red Sea flare-up, China has been in a spot. As much as 60 per cent of its exports pass through the area. This conflict has begun impacting its economy.
A Chinese acquiescence to talk to Iran about Uncle Sam’s issues could be made to predicate on the UK-US duo scaling it down in the Red Sea area. Would Biden bite that bullet? There have been no further updates on the same.
Meanwhile, in another PR blow to the ‘unipolar hegemon’, Iraq has made public excerpts of a decision taken jointly by Washington and Baghdad to begin talks on the future of American troops, their phased withdrawal, and the peace and stability of Iraq.
For Uncle Sam and the Democrat lobby, the timing of this couldn’t be worse. Though the USA’s tangible benefits would continue unrestrained even after withdrawal (Iraq’s oil export money is mandated to remain with US banks), the possibility of an American withdrawal from Iraq made public is bound to cause ripple effects in the region, with different players recalibrating their strategies and tactics accordingly. Iran, for example, might spot an opportunity, while Israel might find itself in a future quandary—especially now, with the Abrahamic Accords and all the stabilisation of the Middle East looking weaker by the hour.
As things stand, Joe Biden should choose a token response to Tower-22 to placate the neocon members among his domestic backers and not indulge in something that spills this conflict out of control. But then, we have some idea about the way the US planners remain bubble-trapped in their last-century vision of American supremacy and indispensability.
It would be interesting to watch whether Washington reacts to the obligations of an election year or if it bears the slap in the face of ‘American supremacy’.
Arindam Mukherjee is a geopolitical analyst; he tweets @heartland_ari. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.
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